Medical Spanish for U.S. Medical Students - A Pilot Case Study

Oct 15, 2026

A one-week pilot course was developed and implemented at The University of Alabama School of Medicine in January 2010 to expand medical Spanish education for U.S. medical students. The program aimed to refresh Spanish skills before third-year clerkships and to provide a transferable model for medical schools. It taught Spanish language and relevant cultural information tailored to students’ varying proficiency levels, delivered by an experienced SSP instructor. Student evaluations informed next steps, and findings indicate medical Spanish can be added to U.S. curricula.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Need for medical Spanish

Abstract

Pilot design and objectives

Literature Review

Communication barriers and outcomes

Existing course models

1 Medical Spanish for U.S. Medical Students: A Pilot Case Study Lauren Davidson University of Massachusetts Medical School Sheri Spaine Long University of Alabama at Birmingham Abstract In an effort to expand the teaching of medical Spanish to medical students, a one-week pilot course was developed and implemented at The University of Alabama School of Medicine (UASOM) in January 2010. Objectives included offering a refresher course in Spanish for medical students before third-year clerkships and providing a model for medical schools interested in developing medical Spanish courses. The pilot course included the teaching of Spanish language and related cultural information to students at varying levels of Spanish proficiency by an experienced Spanish for Specific Purposes (SSP) instructor. Students completed an evaluation to suggest future directions for the course. The results suggest that a medical Spanish course for medical students can indeed be added to U.S. medical school curricula. Introduction We use language to communicate thoughts and information and to reveal our needs (Modern Language Association, 2007). In the medical field, language is a critical tool for delivering and receiving quality care. In the U.S., many pre-medical students enroll in Spanish courses in secondary school and in college. Some medical students have taken Spanish for Specific Purposes (SSP) courses prior to medical school, but still lack the specialized vocabulary and specific Spanish language skills or proficiency level needed to interact with and care for their Spanish-speaking patients appropriately. Many medical students with some experience in the Spanish language seek out opportunities to maintain, practice, and expand these skills; however, these students find few options to do so during medical school, as specific courses in medical Spanish are typically absent from U.S. medical school curricula. A review of the recent literature points to a deficit in high quality health care available to Spanish-speaking patients in the U.S. because of the inability of physicians and other health care providers to communicate effectively in languages other than English (Morales, Cunningham, Brown, & Hays, 1994). As of July 1, 2006, the Hispanic population in the U.S. totaled 44.8 million, which is 14.8% of the total population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006), making Spanish-speaking patients a part of any physician’s practice. 10 Dimension 2013 Medical students have limited curricular and extra-curricular time for formal and informal language acquisition and maintenance. Because of time-constraints, there are few options to add Spanish classes to medical school curricula. To begin to work toward a solution, we developed a brief pilot course in medical Spanish for medical students, which took place at The University of Alabama School of Medicine in January 2010.1 A way to develop, fund, and pilot a medical Spanish course at UASOM became available through a program called the Scholarly Research Activity (SRA).2 The only course length available for medical Spanish elective was a one-week intensive course. A course of this type has yet to be documented in the literature. Literature Review Although the literature pertaining to the success of teaching medical Spanish to medical students is limited, there are a few institutions that have provided models of such courses. No medical schools offered the same one-week format asthe UASOM pilot. The following models illustrate the demand for medical Spanish as well as a variety of responses. They show that the Spanish and the medical professions have indeed begun to work together. Because of the scarcity of comparable courses, we include examples that describe Spanish language education targeting undergraduate pre-medical students, medical students, medical residents, and established physicians, although the pilot course at this institution was taught to medical students alone. The ne

FAQs

What was the pilot course for medical Spanish intended to achieve?

It sought to refresh medical students’ Spanish before third-year clerkships and to offer a model that other medical schools could use to develop similar courses.

How was the pilot course delivered and adapted to students?

The course taught Spanish language and related cultural information to students with varying Spanish proficiency levels, led by an experienced Spanish for Specific Purposes (SSP) instructor.

What evidence in the document supports adding medical Spanish to U.S. medical school curricula?

Student evaluations and the results of the pilot suggest a medical Spanish course for medical students can be successfully incorporated into U.S. medical school curricula.

Oct 15, 2026

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